


Gender Reveal

by barsonaddict



Series: A Barson Baby [3]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 19:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5218739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barsonaddict/pseuds/barsonaddict
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liv and Rafael find out if they're having a boy or a girl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gender Reveal

It's been their main conversation topic since they found out she's pregnant- girl or boy?

Noah, in all his two year old stubbornness, will not even consider the fact that it might not be a boy. He wants a brother; he's determined they will share clothes, toys, and even his bed. 

Rafael is confident it's going to be a girl. He's done his research (Google search) and the way Liv is carrying the baby, the range of its heart rate, and of course the ever reliable Chinese Lunar Calendar gender predictor; all signs point to a girl. 

Liv secretly agrees with her boyfriend, but generally plays devil's advocate and says it'll be a boy. 

Today is Olivia's mid-term ultrasound, and if their child is cooperative, at 18 weeks they should be able to settle their bet. 

The stakes are high between Liv and Rafael; veto power in choosing their child's name. 

Rafael wants something "normal", apparently the scars of sharing a name with a Ninja Turtle in the late '80s are still prominent. 

Olivia wants to honour someone special from one of their lives, and she also loves the idea of a Spanish name.

But Rafael isn't convinced- and he wants the name to go well with Noah's. 

They haven't worked out all the details yet but have decided the kids will both be Benson-Barba. 

In the waiting room, Olivia is focused on her phone- having a discussion via text with one of the detectives. 

Rafael is keeping an eye on his email inbox for anything important but is mostly just looking around the room, unable to focus due to his excitement. 

He absentmindedly wraps a lock of Liv's hair around his finger, loving the natural waves she has taken to styling. It seems her hair styles change once a year, but he's hoping with the baby coming and the low maintenance of this style, this trend will stick around. 

He jumps as the nurse calls her name. 

She smiles at him and gives his hand a squeeze, murmuring, "Calm down. We'll have our answer soon enough. "

He just grins back at her and moves quickly to his feet, pulling her with him. 

The nurse smiles at his eagerness and Rafael now realizes he is the only male in the waiting room. "First child?" she asks as the couple approach. 

"No," Barba answers, "but it's our first pregnancy."

Noah Porter Benson is Rafael's pride and joy. He doesn't think he could love him more, even if they shared DNA. Since he and Liv became official, he has felt more comfortable getting closer to Noah and found that his bond with the little boy was something that filled in life in one of the best ways. 

The nurse looks a little confused but doesn't comment and starts down the hallway, showing them to an exam room. 

"The doctor will be here soon, let's get your vitals done and everything set up so we're ready to go once she arrives."

Olivia nods her agreement and hands Rafael her coat and purse. He accepts them with a roll of his eyes. 

Once the routine information is taken care of, the nurse leaves them to get settled while she brings in the ultrasound machine. 

"Last chance to cancel our bet, Liv", Rafael offers with a smile. "After I'm proven right, you can't take away my prize."

"Mmm, I'm going to have to decline your offer, Counselor. I'm going to enjoy vetoing every name that has been in the top ten for the last five years. I don't want our son having the same name as three other kids in his class."

"On the contrary, querido, when we take our daughter to the store, she will be able to find a personalized keychain or hairbrush, just like her big brother."

The doctor and nurse arriving with the ultrasound machine puts a halt to their discussion. 

Greetings are exchanged and the doctor asks Olivia a few questions and makes notes in the chart.

Rafael zones out for a moment, distracted by a poster detailing stages of labour, until Olivia drops his hand to adjust her shirt for the scan. 

After she gets settled, he moves closer and grabs her hand again, giving her a quick kiss and saying quietly, "I love you; and girl or boy- I will love this baby with everything in me. I just need you to know that."

Blinking back tears, Liv whispers back, "Me too." And gives his hand a gentle squeeze. 

When they bring their attention back to the doctor, she's focused on the image on the screen, and spends the next several minutes taking measurements. 

Olivia and Rafael are mesmerized by the sight of their baby, and while they can't quite figure out everything they see, the head and arms are easily spotted. 

"All right Mom and Dad, everything looks good." The doctor takes the time to point out the head, arms, legs, and feet (Rafael coos out loud at the sight of tiny baby toes), and confirms that they want to know the sex. 

"Yes!" They respond immediately in unison and then laugh. 

"It's kind of been an escalating bet," Liv explains with a shrug. 

"I completely understand," says the doctor. "Looks like we have a cooperative one here. Say hello to Baby Boy Benson-Barba. That's quite a mouthful!"

They are both staring at the monitor in shock. Despite what side she took on the bet, Olivia was convinced by Barba's arguments and thought it was a girl as well. 

"A boy? Are you sure?" Rafael is the first to recover. 

The doctor laughs, "Most definitely. See this? That's his penis."

They both look at the screen closely and then each other, wide smiles stretching across their faces. 

"Noah is going to be so happy," Olivia says once she finds her voice. 

The doctor gives them a summary of the developments and then prints out a few copies of the sonogram. 

As they walk hand in hand out of the doctor's office and out onto the streets of Manhattan, Rafael asks, "Do you have anything pressing to deal with?"

"No, nothing that can't wait a while, what's up?"

"I don't either. Here," he says, and pulls her into a coffee shop. 

Once they are settled on the same side of a booth with drinks and a snack (your son wants a cookie, Barba) Olivia turns to Rafael looking for an explanation as to why they are there. 

"I just don't want to go back to work just yet, I want to spend a few minutes letting the news sink in."

He places his hand on her bump, and continues, "We're having another boy."

"I can't wait to tell Noah! And we can reuse a lot of his stuff too. I gave away most of his infant clothes and toys but I haven't had a chance to go through the stuff from about a year on- it's all still in his closet. Guess procrastination paid off," Liv says with a small smile, placing her hand on top of his where it still rests on her bump. 

"Are you disappointed?" she asks quietly. 

"No, Liv. Never. I know I made a big deal of saying it would be a girl, but I'm so happy. The doctor said he's right on track for growth, he has all his limbs, and he's just... perfect," Barba replies, pulling out the sonogram to gaze at the image of his youngest son again. 

Olivia strokes the edge of the photo absently. 

"How do you want to break the news to everyone?"

"Hmm. I don't know. Maybe we just tell Noah and let him be in charge of the announcement."

"That's actually a really good idea, Raf. That Harvard education is starting to pay off," she teased him with a smile and a kiss on the corner of his mouth.

"Ha. Ha. You're hilarious," he answers dryly, but just rubs her thigh and takes a drink, finishing his coffee. 

"You ready to head back?" Rafael asks, playing with her hair again. 

"Mmm-hmm. I gotta go to the ladies' quickly, while I do that could you grab me a couple cookies to go? Looks like your son is going to be a Cookie Monster," she adds with a smile. 

Rafael just smiles back and gathers their refuse, heading back to the lineup at the counter. 

As he watches the love of his life make her way through the crowd he is tempted to pinch himself- years before he'd given up on hoping for this life, one with a growing family of his own. 

He orders her cookies (plus some extra for the squad) and moves to stand out of the way while he waits for Olivia. 

He places a quick call to his mother's voicemail, letting her know the baby is growing well and everyone is healthy. He purposely does not mention the gender, knowing she'll call after work anyway, and Noah will have his first chance to spread the news that he's officially getting a 'baby brudder'.


End file.
